Justices*
Clerks.

Summary
Jurisdiction.

230 PART V. The Judiciary
they are transferred to a supplemental list and only permitted to
exercise functions such as authenticating documents and giving cer-
tificates ; they may take no part in judicial business. It is the practice
by the terms of their appointment to require metropolitan magis-
trates to retire at seventy, subject to a possible extension for two
years. When a justice of the peace is incapacitated by age earlier
than seventy-five or infirmity or some other reason, the Lord
Chancellor may place his name on the supplemental list1
Since the middle of the nineteenth century every bench of magis-
trates has had the assistance of a salaried clerk in the transaction
of its judicial and administrative functions. Tfee clerk advises the
magistrates, since the vast majority of them are unacquainted with
the law or legal procedure on appointment, on matters of court
practice and points of law. He may not, however, himself adjudicate
and therefore the magistrates must make up their own minds as to
the guilt or innocence of an accused person rather than seek the
advice of the clerk on that issue. The clerk, who is nowadays nor-
mally a solicitor in whole time employment as such is appointed by
the Magistrates Courts Committee for the county or borough which
has a separate commission of the peace. This Committee since 1953
has been given the responsibility for the administrative details of
magistrates* courts as well as arranging for instruction to be given
to newly appointed justices.
Innumerable minor offences are tried by magistrates exercising
summary jurisdiction in county and borough Petty Sessional Courts.
A large number of indictable offences (such as thefts and other
offences under the Larceny Act, 1916), can also be tried summarily
on the application of the prosecution, should be accused desire it and
the magistrates consider it expedient. Conversely, where an offence
triable summarily is punishable with more thanj^i^p moatbs' im-
prisonment, the accused may elect to beT3S3Tby a jury.at .Quarts
jSggsiaas. A person convicted summarily of an indictable offence
may be committed in custody to Quarter Sessions if the magistrates
are of opinion that greater punishment than they have power to
inflict should be inflicted. All offences other than ^homicide, com-
mitted by young persons under seventeen may be tried summarily
in the juvenile court. Petty Sessional Courts also conduct preliminary
enquiries into indictable offences to determine whether or not an
accused person should be committed for trial.2 A coroner's court,
which conducts enquiries (inquests) into the cause of violent or un-
natural death or where the cause of death is unknown, may commit
for trial on a charge of homicide.3
1 Justices of the Peace Act, 1949, s. 4.
* A single justice may commit for trial.